This invention relates to optical presetting of tools which are mounted on a lathe turret or the like. Prior to this invention, turret lathes had to be shut down while a trained operator aligned the various tools mounted on the turret. The alignment required various alignment tools which were slow and difficult to use. This procedure was very costly as the lathe was inoperative for the duration of the alignment procedure. Also, by using a highly trained operator, additional salary costs were incurred.
The present invention has simplified and reduced the cost of aligning turret tools. Not only can the lathe be used while the tools are aligned, but also the use of a highly skilled operator is not required. Because of its simple and easy-to-use nature, this invention can be used by persons with far less training than the lathe operator. As such, the efficiency of the lathe and operator is increased and the cost of changing tooling is greatly decreased.